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Last year, Bryan Clauson raced at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the Indy Lights Series. This year, he hopes to make the field for the Indianapolis 500. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

Izod IndyCar Series team owner Sarah Fisher went back to her short-track racing roots to find a driver for the second car of her team's Indianapolis 500 effort. USAC open-wheel star Bryan Clauson will drive the No. 39 car for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing.

Clauson, from Noblesville, Ind., is a USAC national champion and has won several races in his family-owned No. 39 USAC midget. He will be teammate to another young American driver, Josef Newgarden, who is from Nashville, Tenn.

Clauson and Newgarden were teammates in Firestone Indy Lights in 2011.

“It's an awesome opportunity for me to enter the Indianapolis 500 with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing,” said Clauson. “It's almost surreal just talking about it. For me to be attempting to make the race with Sarah's team is just phenomenal. With her background in sprint-car and midget racing and her continued involvement at that level, this is just a good fit for me. I'm also proud to be an Indiana boy driving for an Indiana team.”

Clauson won back-to-back USAC national drivers championships in 2010 and 2011 for his performance in all three major USAC open-wheel divisions. He also won the USAC national midget championship in 2010 and 2011.

Clauson had four top-five finishes in the Firestone Indy Lights Series in 2011. His best finish was third at Iowa Speedway driving for Sam Schmidt Motorsports.

“It's quite an honor to bring a USAC champion to the Indianapolis 500,” said Fisher. “I am very fond of my roots in short-track oval racing, and watching Bryan at some of these events really brings back memories. Personally, knowing his background, I have complete confidence in his credentials, talent and capabilities and look forward to working with him at Indy. It will be exciting to fill out our team roster with both of the Road to Indy champions from last season, really solidifying the ladder program.”

The pairing of Clauson and Newgarden is a strong statement for the Mazda Road to Indy program. In addition to Clauson's USAC national drivers championships, Newgarden won the 2011 Firestone Indy Lights championship.

Clauson and Newgarden both passed their IndyCar rookie oval test at Texas Motor Speedway on April 5. They will participate in the Indy Rookie Orientation Program on May 10.